Wednesday, 1 February 2012

So my anonymous hater has made a blog. I don't find the site itself overly offensive; healthy discussion is good for the community, and it's always interesting to see other peoples' opinions on Goth - however what I do find a tad irritating is that they would rather focus on calling myself and my friends 'morons' than starting any positive discussions.

The whole disagreement began on my post Violent Criminals Are Not Goth; to counter this, this person has posted an article with the same title (close enough) featuring murderers Manuela and Daniel Ruda, saying, "Now, both of these guys (according to the very lax view the online goth community has of what does and does not constitute being goth) seem pretty fucking goth to me. manuela wouldn't actually look too out of place on some hideous, meandering post about goth hair or make-up, for example. she also "told the court she drifted into the "gothic" scene after the Devil contacted her when she was 14". so yeah, pretty fucking goth, especially if we're working on that whole "GOTH IS WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE - DON'T LET ANYONE SAY OTHERWISE" tripe that seems to be rife within the goth "community". i expect she probably didn't listen to evanescence or linkin park either."

If we're to judge simply by appearances, I am not overly convinced of the couple's 'Gothness' simply by the effort they have put in to appear 'scary' and 'shocking'. As a post somewhere or other on Goth Tips says, the Goth aesthetic is about the horror in beauty, not just about trying to look evil or scary. Perhaps this is personal prejudice but I don't think these two have achieved such.

My second point on the 'they are probably not Goth' list comes from the poster him/herself - the fact that Manuela got into Goth 'after the devil contacted her'. That just screams 'cheesy poseur wannabe' at me. >.< There is a difference between 'people who are into the Goth scene because it suits them' and 'people who are into the Goth scene because they think it makes them spoooooky'.

Having Googled the couple, as well as having severe mental illness, they described themselves as 'vampires' and devil worshippers, and judging from the extremes of even their daily behaviour as described in many articles, probably would have been regarded even within the Goth scene as 'a little odd'.

Either way, I feel the point is moot because some of the points I was trying to make with the original article are that, even if a small percentage of the Goth scene are killers and murderers who worship the devil and drink blood, they probably would have behaved in such a way whether the Goth scene existed or not because there is something wrong with them. I don't feel that every crime committed by a teen in a black band T-shirt should result in a bad name for the scene as a whole, but neither do I feel that the scene is made up of angels and saints. But I firmly believe that the majority of Goths do not behave in such a manner.

This person also posted some quotes about Goth from 'people who are affiliated with it'. I've mentioned before that members of some of what the subculture embraces as its most prominent bands are less than enamoured with Goth as a group, in this post here.

"We got our goth clothing from second-hand stores, and the only clothes we bought was maybe a pair of Dr Martens boots that we saved up for - everything else was thrown together from, like, second-hand clothing stores. So I think there's just a lot more pressure on kids nowadays to stay with the crowd - or with the herd." - Nivek Ogre - Skinny Puppy.

I totally agree with this quote, it affirms a lot of what is said in the Goth community nowadays that instead of buying clothes second hand and DIYing them, a lot of newbie Goths prefer to pop down to their local Hot Topic or Blue Banana and buy what is basically an Instant Goth Kit, without any originality or individuality (thus, the herd).

"No, we didn't think of ourselves as goth; there was no movement" - Dave Roberts - Sex Gang Children.

These quotes being used as insults would possibly strive to imply that Goths need approval from members of bands that they like to be interested in and enjoy the subculture. This is not necessarily true as shown by the attitudes of such luminaries as Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith and Andrew Eldritch,who have all shown a tendency to wrinkle their pasty noses at such a connection, but whose music is generally loved by the Goth scene anyway.

There is, then, an entire post dedicated to deconstructing the contents of my Last.fm. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time (or just happened to glance at my profile in the sidebar where it mentions that I listen to *gasp* genres other than Goth music) will know that I don't just listen to Goth. I love how the person needs to point out that (wait for it!) several of my top twenty-one bands are either metal, shock rock, rock, and yep, there's even some hip-hop in there too. :-)

This person has also searched to see if I listen to Joy Division. Nope, I don't like Joy Division very much, won't find that in there. Christian Death? Yep, but sadly only on LPs which means, somewhat obviously, that they don't scrobble on Last.fm.

As I have pointed out several times on this here blog and as many of you have agreed with, Goths don't just listen to one genre of music. I have mentioned several times that I listen to everything ranging from Johnny Hollow to Ashlee Simpson. Sue me. ^^

Here are some more quotes from this other person's blog:

"If the people in question find this blog" - if you didn't want me to find it, why did you send me five links?

"she calls herself THE ULTIMATE GOTH" - I'm just going to copy-and-paste myself here, it's in the Site Policies thing in the side bar. "No, I do not really think I am the ‘ultimate Goth’. Neither is this ‘the best’ Goth site on the web." The title of this blog? It's tongue-in-cheek.

"the constant labelling of these goths as being smarter, better read, more open minded etc etc etc than the rest of society is equally ridiculous. i've met plenty of "goths" who are the complete opposite of all those things." I'm not actually sure if this person is referring to me here because I've pointed out previously that stereotypes ARE stereotypes, be they positive or negative, and Goths are generally just the same as everyone else, not 'deeper' or 'smarter' or whathaveyou.

"His logic makes me sad :( "your point about most criminals not being goth is now invalid, because I found one killer who was goth" >.<"

"why would you use people who don't accept being associated with goth, and then refer to them as goth? Not only as goth, but as the end all be all of what goth is? That sounds like a smart idea. And, i'm a bit confused as to his goal, in general, other than obsessing about Amy. All he does is complain about what goth isn't, but doesn't dare tread into what it is or could be to him, beyond his apparent affiliation with violence."

At the end of the day I've created this site for enjoyment - both of myself and others - and am more than happy to take it down if a lot of people have a problem with what I have to say. If the genuine followers of this blog - those of you who are on Blogger and hit the 'Join this Site' button, as well as my much-adored regulars such as Traicetrak, Chloris and Nightwind to name but a few - feel that I am generally misinformed or wasting my time with incorrect information, I'd like to think you would have told me before now! ;-) However if a majority of you think I am in the wrong please do let me know.

If you guys want the blog to stay, it stays, and I can promise there will be no further mention of the "Superlative Goth Guide" from me (is it a sign of success when people make hate websites about you?). I wouldn't even have made a post about this but Kitty asked me to share the lulz with everyone and I don't want to pretend it isn't there, so I do apologise if I have bored anyone with this - although hopefully it's given some of you a laugh! ;-)

I was requested to "go comment" and protect Amy from the psychopathic comments. So here's some really neat information.

Whilst generally considered solitary, we cats can form unbreakable community bonds with other cats, people and animals, either through blood relations, shared space, or dependance on one another for food, shelter or comfort.

The domestic housecat, such as yours truly, is also a killing machine, equipped with claws like razors and teeth that are designed to crush windpipes. Both weapons are also packed-full of bateria so, if I don't kill you now, the infection will kill you later.

I'm really sorry about this suitation Amy, *lots of hugs* you don't deserve it bubs.

However I think you should simply ignore this, this post is probably delighting the blogger. I'm refusing to click on the blog and look because they don't deserve any hits, I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Please don't delete. You've been such an inspiration for me even if I'm an"elder goth". I think this person must have some severe failures wasting energy on hate like that. Don't bother! I don't agree with everything you say but I agree with the most. I love your outfit posts and goth style reviews and I think you are very cunning in the subjects you write about. Hugs!

Oh yeah I forgot to mention but you should get hold of their IP Address and ban it, also tell the rest of us what it is so we can ban it. If they've commented on your posts you can probably find it there, if not just ask and I'll work it out for you. It'll prevent them from creating anymore drama on other blogs.

Juliet - I had a look but can't figure out how to find it (yes, I am technologically backwards...). They commented anonymously on Violent Crimes... (there's a link in this post), I'm sure you'll be able to tell which one they are. XP

I got quoted *feels important*And of course you shouldn't delete your blog."You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."Bring on the haters I say!*Of course my punk side came out and imagined a giant beating a la Clockwork Orange.:3

Unfortunately I've looked at a few pages on blogger forums and apparently you can't block an IP Address, which I find shocking. However if you got your own server you definitely could.

But you can mark them as spam so if they try to comment again it'll be sent straight to your spam box. Go back to any comments they posted and mark them all as spam. Also, change your comment settings to "Registered User - includes OpenID". This requires an email address that works or a website to comment.

Research into other comment servers (or whatever you call them) which might store an IP address, I think at the moment you're using disqus? Remove the anon option at least.

As for personally contacting them I wouldn't bother at the moment, edit this post and ask your followers to report them. If all your followers reported the site it would get a warning very quickly, they won't immediately delete the blog though. They'll probably warn them and remove the content, if they post any shit again it might get deleted. You'll have to keep an eye on them.

Also, create a comment policy on your blog. Three strikes and you can't comment again.

Don't delete your blog because one idiot has way too much time on his/her hands and has chosen to target you. I love your blog and I doubt anyone actually takes your "ULTIMATE" goth guide title seriously... except maybe this Superlative jackass.

Don't let the haters bring you down. Just think of it as more attention for your blog!

Please don't delete your blog, i've literally spent so much time reading through all the different things you write about and i thoroughly enjoy your blog - as do lots of other people and that person is very inconsiderate and obviously has too much time on their hands to be ranting this much. I hope youre doing okay!

Haters gonna hate! This just means that you are even super-cooler than I ever thought you were, because this person is so threatened by your outrageous behaviour of being open, accepting, intelligent and charming. You poseur!

I for one count you and this blog as a major inspiration for my own gothy dreams. Reading this blog finally inspired me to stop lurking in life. It cleared away so many of the misconceptions about the subculture that I had.

OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!! People need to get a life, seriously. Amy, don't let the bastard get you down. I would absolutely report the site and go after him/her. This is cyber bullying and needs to be taken care of ASAP, at least for your peace of mind.

Please don't delete! I absolutely love your blog and have since the first day I stumbled upon it.You are one of the main people who made me want to start and continue blogging. Don't let them get you down!

Yes I agree with Miss Eva. Report the site and hope the site gets removed by a admin or the webmaster. Also don't delete this site because of an anonymous user which acts like an "angry pouty teen" and made a immature blog. Even myself I fear of people ridiculing me, but I'm stubborn to give up and stay strong, hope you stay strong like me, Amy. All of us as faithful members of your blog will miss you badly, if you delete it. We'll support you forever and your blog as well. ^,..,^

Congrats! You have officially made it big as a blogger when you have haters that dedicate a whole site to hating you.

I'm not sure what they thought they will accomplish. The only people who will check it out are your fans so who are they trying to reach out to? Other haters will not know it is there because they would have to read your blog to know.

You guys are awesome :-) Thanks everyone for the words of support. I have to admit I find it a little creepy that someone is spending so much time and energy (to the point of creating diagrams about my Last.fm o.O) on something so inane, and equally unnerving that this person cares so much about the website and opinions of a twenty-year-old stranger. Hopefully in time they will find something better to do offline. :-)

Fuck the haters Amy! You're amazing and you are the reason I started even blogging in the first place. Keep up the good work and don't let them get to you. :) I love your blog and so do a TON of other goths.

Haters gonna Hate.I honestly don't see this person's angle here; (s)he looks more like the moron by even doing this in the first place. It's petty and ridiculous, and it just proves how immature (s)he is. Please don't stop you blog. I really love it, and you're really inspiring and you have freedom of free speech. Also you wouldn't have this many followers if you were that terrible. Any publicity is good publicity. Take this whole thing in your stride. You're a good enough person to ignore the idiots.

I just read this persons blog and I think his/her biggest issue with you is that you remove his/her comments because they don't fit with what you say. I think you should leave their comments up, and encourage all of your other readers to just ignore them, if in fact they truly are offensive, and not just contrary.

By the way, I also read his/her profile, and based on "Favorite Music", he/she listed some clearly non-Goth bands. So how can this, based on his/her opinions of the importance of music in Goth culture, non-Goth really have any valid opinions of you, your blog, or Goth culture? Just ignore this whole situation, leave the comments up, and it'll go away.

Amy I'm so sorry that this has happened to you! It's one thing to disagree with someone and to argue your point intelligently, and it's another to so rudely and viciously attack a worthwhile person such as yourself.

For what it's worth, I would be seriously saddened by the loss of this blog. I come here several times a day; just to see if you've posted anything new. "The Ultimate Goth Guide" is a valuable resource. You cover a wide range of topics and your posts often encourage healthy debate, as did your recent discussion of metal. It also allows us form an online community through which we can support one another.

My advice would be to simply ignore that person and his/her blog. If he or she posts hateful comments here, you can simply delete them.

Here's one other thing you might want to consider though; remain vague about where you live and the venues that you go to. I noticed that the blog operator lists his/her country as the United Kingdom. The less this person knows about you the better.

Also, the music you listen to is...well, it's just you. You haven't lost any Goth points because some of your music is non Goth. I listen to a fair amount of classical music as well as folk, Celtic, and alternative rock. Where I live folk music is an integral part of the local culture. How can I ignore it?

Anyway, I hope that you'll get feeling better about all of this soon. It hurts when someone attacks us for who and what we are. Just remember that your admirers far outweigh this detractor.

I spend evening after evening reading your posts because you've got such a great outlook on life and such quick wit that it can rival anyones! Ignore this random blogger and keep writing Amy, your blog is PHENOMENAL thank you so much for inspiring me to blog too!!!!! Xx

The fact that this person's "blog" is so shoddily put together in its presentation and writing, despite the author having enough free time to attempt deconstructing your own site and Last.FM account, is almost hilarious! Even in your response to this incident, there's a standard of quality you've adhered to: bravo! Their blog's basically an electronic billboard for attention that they'll ultimately never be able to get or steal away from you, Amy; don't sweat it! You keep writing posts, and I'll keep reading them. :)

I read part of this disrespectful persons blog, and wanted to point out how (s)he had a complaint on grammar, yet I don't think I found a properly written sentence in that entire post, let alone not knowing there is a "SHIFT" key on their keyboard.

Anyways, some people will say stupid things and insult in order to get a reaction and try to tear you down. I enjoy your blogs, as do others do as well. This person is obviously ignorant and is just trying to get a rise from everyone, and has yet to make sense to me.

Hmm...That's strange. I posted a comment here a while back and it seems to have disappeared. I wonder what happened.

Anyway Amy, I am so sorry that some rude and obnoxious person has decided to target you. I hope you remember that a great number of us admire you both for your spirit and the valuable resource that you provide for us here. I visit The Ultimate Goth Guide several times per day and I feel that you provide us with a valuable resource.

Just ignore that hateful person and his/her vicious blog. Hopefully, they'll just go away. And remember, the number of admirers you have far outweigh that one hateful person. Don't let him or her get you down.

Screw him. He obviously has no life so he's going round trying to dismantle yours. But as you have such awesome followers such as the Glamorously Vicious HouseCat on your side the loser is not going to win no matter how hard he tries.

Your blog brings so many people together through their shared love of the Goth culture that it would be a downright shame if you deleted.

Chin up, there is always going to be at least one person out in the world that doesn't like the way any of us live our lives and those people don't deserve the time of day *hugs*

Well, what a rude person ._.Hm, you know, so what that you don't listen to 'Goth music' 24/7. One of my most played songs on iTunes is Girls Fall Like Dominoes, but then... so is Lucretia My Reflection and Face to Face. Personally, I'm quite proud of my music taste, however bad and unlike myself some of my choices may be...

(This is BellaDonna, BTW, but I'm having to post this through an account, so not sure what the name on this post will actually be.)

This... 'amoeba' is a good word... should really consider the old saying, "When you sling mud, you lose ground." She's obviously very jealous of you or she'd have found something more productive to do than spend time creating a hate site devoted to you. I can't be bothered to read it, as I don't deliberately put junk into my brain.

As several people have said, your blog is too good to delete, and you are much too classy and intelligent to let this get you down for long. :-)

if you delete your blog it only means the other blogger won and you let him/her get to you. i read your blog and i like it, but i dont like everything about it, which is normal since i have a brain to decide for my own. so cheer up. you will have followers and haters, you cant have one and not the other. its a way of life sadly. keep on blogging. xoxo.

OK, I'm going to start out with letting you know that this is going to sound weird, but I have know other way of saying all this with out doing it as I would to a very close friend, whom I have these kind of conversations with all the time. So here I go.

First of all, I'm very excited for you!!!! Your awesomeness has now reached the level of picking up Leeches. It's awful,It's annoying, and it can be discouraging, but it happens and while this person is the first huge one. They wont be the last. I'm happy that the others and you are being active and reporting it. Just be aware that this person will probably stick around for a while and just keep prodding. That statement will bring me to my second Issue.

You say that this person sent you 5 different links to find the blog. The thing says they have messaged you constantly and harassed you. It makes me worried that this person is a Psychic Vampire. You did good in letting us know about them, and telling us to be on alert. Now take care of yourself please. I really do like your blog and don't want for it to become a chore for you. Which can happen if you let a psychic Vampire in. I had a bad experience with one. I don't want you to have one too. SO scab this person over now and give them the minimal attention they deserve. Don't let them into your mind and life too far. In fact at this point I'm going to recommend you find some one to double check you to make sure you don't have any dark spots in your aura already.

Now like I said this all probably sounds Weird, but here in the Southwest of the U.S. it is actually more common than people like to admit. Psychic Vampires are all around and they go after people whom have lots of energy and lots of Life. You always seem to have both.

The guy is a classic troll that seems to be obsessed with finding anything that can hurt Amy, and her blog. The blog itself can be considered a mock due to the picture, and the 'response' to an entry Amy did awhile back.

I've been reading this blog/guide for awhile now, and it has introduced me to various other blogs and ideas.

I may not always agree what Amy says, but so what? You can express a difference in opinion without hurting a person, without creating a blog meant to mock and cause distress.

Don't delete your blog!! If I hadn't found your blog I would be a very different person. I would've never heard of other great bloggers through you and you inspired me to blog. You are wonderful. Forget about this person, they are just jealous that a goth girl could be so loved by so many people around the world and so the person says awful things to make them feel better.Remember that we all love you.

Amy, please don't let yourself be discouraged by some pathetic, jealous dork.This is what it's all about - jealousy, the green-eyed monster. Your blog is so good it got pretty popular. You've got so many followers and admirers. And there's this pitiful bloke, completely uninteresting, probably unliked - and unknown to no one. He tried so hard to spoil Your mood, so that he could feel just a lil'bit better.Yep, there are people like that. Screw them. You're doing a tremendous job, girl. Keep it up.We need You.

This person is the online equivalent of the jerk in high school who "pretended" to be you to make everyone laugh, then knocked the lunchtray out of your hands. We all have dealt with those people IRL. Keep up the awesome blog...eventually this person will get tired/bored of it and disappear.

So he's gone to great lengths to explain that he's not X,Y *or* Z... what IS he then?Frankly, even if your site WAS the utter bollocks he claims it to be? (Which I don't find, btw) I'd still rather read an earnest post from a genuine person doing her best to explore and discuss things she truly enjoys, than a petulant anon who presents themselves as NOTHING WHATEVER shaming others for not doing likewise.

The less we know about this better. Just keep away love:)Amy everyone adores you, please don't cause yourself unnecessary hurt reading anything further on that blog. Or anyone for that matter anyone else. You are very much loved by us, never fret.

I think that blog owner sets a "superlative" example of how to be an immature and attention-seeking imbecile. They've deliberately misinterpreted you and are trying to get a rise out of you either to bolster their own ill-conceived opinion of anyone who is *GASP* different, or to bolster their own self-esteem and ego issues.

And for the record, I've been following your blog for almost a year because it's informative, fascinating and just a ton of fun. =)

Personally, I'd just take the higher road and ignore the p***ks, because essentially it sounds like they're immature children who are butthurt and jealous (of your success and thus now have the try and piggy-back on it).

But yeah. Just keep on doing what you're doing, and pretty much ignore them (and report their blog obviously). You've got more readers than them, for one.

Oh, Don't delete your blog! So many people love it! And if there are a few haters, so be it. They must have no life, because I would NOT be making a blog like that. Even if it was about Brittney Spears or some such (whose music I quite like actually!) I say the person's an idiot. :) Out of every Goth blog out there, he only chose yours because so many people love it. Personally, I think he's is opposed to love. Don't delete it Amy! No matter what he says.

Don't worry about them. They lost all credibility when they decided to use playground bully tactics express their disagreement with you, rather than actually explaining what they disagreed with and arguing their case properly. You know, like anyone with a shred of maturity would do.

... and yet we're supposedly the immature fourteen year olds. The hypocrisy is priceless.

I really enjoy your blog and try to get online EVERY day to check it. I sincerely hope that you are not convinced to delete the blog, but to at least leave it up, if not continue blogging. It has been a big help to me since I have discovered it. I am planning to start my own blog because of you; you have really inspired me. I am more active in life in general since I have started following you, simply because you have revived the inner me as a goth that had been stamped out by family and friends.

I really hope I don't sound stalkerish, but I want to convey how important your blog has been to me. Thank you Amy for spending so much time working on this blog; it is wonderful and does not deserve hate responses.

Please don't delete this blog. I bet that's what he wants anyways. If it wasn't for this blog (and your old site) i wouldn't have my gothy style and love for the subculture i probably wouldn't even be a goth. (Well maybe that's a stretch but i still really love this blog.) When i first made my blog i got a lot of secrets written about me and how it's 'another loli blog that no one will read.' haters always gotta hate on someone.

Your blog is one of, if not the best source of information for people new (and already a part of) the goth scene. As a "baby-bat" your blog has helped me tremendously please don't delete, i mean your bound to get at least one crazy stalker per 100,000 followers think of it as a road marker!

Just another troll with nothing else to do than bash others online. Lame! I love you Amy! I adore everything Goth and your blog has helped me so much moving back into the fashion aspect. Just remember: Haters gonna hate...Lovers gonna celebrate!

Please, don't delete!I'm just getting into goth, and I have to say that your blog is great!That person sounds like a troll or a elitist troll, to me. That whole "OMG, you can't listen to something non-goth and call yourself goth"thing really pissed me off. He(or her)deliberately ignored that there were a lot of gothic bands in the list you posted...let him play in his(or her)little sandbox. Soon he will get bored of his sand castle.

Please please please dont delete this site. I'v read just about every post youve ever made and you've helped me (and a few of my friends) with this thing we call goth (espicially with my confidence about being a black goth) and I feel that I've just about come out of my babybat stage with your help (and my money and iTunes lol.) Don't let these haters put you down. Alot of great people I watch on youtube have plenty of haters (Shanedawson, onison, & batcavedillema to name a few.) All haters want is to be noticed. Don't let them bother you and don't give them the satisfaction of starting a fire with their lighter that has so little gas (i hope you understand that...) Anyways, we love you Amy <3 soo much and I sure me, my friends, and 1,000,000 other people would be devistated if you took down the site. Keep your head high and all that jazz <3

Amy,please don't delete your blog. I'm a babybat in America and your blog is a great source of information on the subculture. It's not the "Ultimate" source, but it's one of the better sources. Don't let some troll bring you down.At the very least, you have one anonymous reader who loves your posts!

Please do not delete your blog because someone else appears to enjoy bringing other people down and mocking them. That is only evidence about the type of person that they are and how unhappy they are in their own life.

You have a lot of followers who enjoy the information and thought provoking posts here, and hearing your opinions. Don't let the bully get to you. :)

Amy, this is just your average internet troll. Do NOT feed the trolls!

This is one of the downsides to the internet. I've seen far too many "goth" pages like this popping up. They steal people's photos and post videos from goth youtubers for the sole purpose of mocking them. What's even worse is that it's by fellow goths!

You know, this isn't anything new. There have been groups like this back in my baby bat days (on the net). They eventually fade away. Funny thing is, all the people I knew who were apart of said group have come to disdain the subculture. Karma at it's best.

Ah, just ignore him. If anything, I find his blog amusing. Very, VERY amusing. It's pathetic...and wow, the things people do on the internet nowadays. It's because of your blog and all of the numerous blogs I follow that I started blogging and vblogging. Please don't go!!

Apologies for the late post, but I just wanted to add my two cents. Please don’t delete your (very interesting, in my opinion) blog just because one rude and humorless person can’t seem to accept that other people will have different opinions than them.

By the way, thanks for sharing the link. I think that blog is hilarious; it's like a nugget of pure anti-logic. (“Enjoying some non-goth music as well as goth music means you can’t call yourself goth! Goth is all about music, but even though we don’t really know what they listened to, Manuela and Daniel are obviously goths because they look like they are!”) Fascinating and very, very silly.

Chlorid told me about this just this evening( I had not done my regular blog reading yesterday), and I was so mad! You are an amazing writer. Your posts are always insightful, and well written. I am 37 and I think you are better informed and more eloquent than many my age. You should think about writing a book. Someone who does this, is obviously very immature and insecure. They are obviously jelous of you and cannot come up with their own ideas so have to leech off others by hating on them. Plus Jillian Venters herself think you're cool to. And you can't argue with the Lady of the Manners. :)

Joining in the chorus to say, don't delete a funny, informative, and interesting blog because one asshate likes to act like a smug little troll. You're great, your blog is great, and overall the community you've built here is way more important than what one pustule says or thinks.

What this person doesn't realize is that they are just bringing you more fans. You see most people like to have an informed opinion and so after reading this persons blog they will be curious and will find yours. At which point I believe many people will find your blog interesting and well informed. So if you find your followers increase after this that may just be why! I had the misfortune of letting my curiosity get the better of me and looked in on this persons blog today. Their new post posted on the 2nd insulted many of the people who have shown their support for you. Including The Lady of Manners. I feel sorry for this fool because one day they may (probably not) look back on their blog and feel embarrassed at how immature they are behaving. I love your blog and so do many people (obviously) Sorry for the long ramble but when there is a bully I can't help but get upset.

I'd be pretty embarrassed if I was whoever it is who made that hate blog, it's just such a pointless and dumb thing to make. They're taking disagreeing with someone WAY TOO FAR.

I've been considering myself Goth for the past 10 years (and denying it for several years before that XD), I like to assume that I'm well past the beginner stage of Goth, and I really enjoy enjoy reading your blog. It's a fun read and it's great information for those looking for it.

Dude, please, do not give this moron the time of day, and if you must give him the time of day, just laugh at him. He (assuming this idiot is a man/boy/male-thing) is apparently obsessed and off his meds. What kind of a weirdo makes a blog devoted to tracking the behaviors of a random subculture blogger? Exactly. A weirdo. He deserves to be laughed at more than anything else. And he needs to get back on his medication. Have a nice day, Amy, and don't let this poo-head upset you. You're better than that.

I know this is a bit late (and I'm behind on posts! eek), but Amy, please don't delete your blog. It's obvious that this is the work of an immature jerk who is jealous of you. (Dissecting someone's musical tates? Really? That's just laughable.)

Your blog is a wonderful source of information and there are so many people who support you and what you're doing :)

Thank-you for deleting my comment.That's very, as you say, "open-minded of you." Myself, I find nothing wrong with the content of your blog. What I find wrong is how you treat people who disagree with you.

Feel free to post whatever it was you posted before. A lot of my anonymous comments have gone into the spam folder, I'm still sorting through them.

I don't mind at all if people disagree with me, there are plenty who do so in a perfectly polite and civil manner and their comments are left up. I can possibly find some examples to link here if and when I get a moment to do so. I do delete comments when people are rude; I used to delete comments with swear words because I knew I had a lot of younger readers but with friends like Kitty that wasn't working out. >.< (Also there are swear words in this post...)

I actually think that its nice to just make a blog for whatever your thinking like your doing. I think that the first post on his blog was great about what his views were on goth but then it just went into bashing your website which is kind of sad. It seems like he has a lot of creativity and I would like to see him write about something other than that.

People do things like that because they're frustrated with how unsatisfying and pathetic their own life is. And thy get some sort of power trip out of trying to bring someone else down with them. I'm sorry that they singled out you. :(

I like your blog a lot! And even if I don't agree with everything you say 100% I still look forward to reading the next entry.

Wow, it's pretty sad that someone has that much time on their hands to make a whole blog whose only purpose is to make fun of yours. Get a life, really. Also, why do they care so much? People should be free to express what they feel and I see no problem with different blogs sharing their different opinions on things that are goth-related. We all have our own interpretations of this, and this is perfectly fine. To me, the right way to go about having differing opinions is to freely express your opinion on your own blog or in comments in a manner that is respectful of the opinions of others rather than being rude and making fun of people whose opinions are different than yours. I don't see why this person doesn't just make a blog and state their own opinions rather than making fun of yours. It makes no sense to me and I wish people would act more mature and respectful of one another on the internet. *SIGH*

To follow up on my comment: I actually ENJOY that there are many different individuals out there who have their own take on gothic style, music, and scenes. I find it interesting to explore the perspectives of others, regardless of whether I agree or not or whether my opinions differ. Why can't we all just enjoy the fact that we have similar interests that are expressed in different ways?

Wow, I used to get a LOT of hate mail (back in the days long ago when I made my email address accessible on Dark Side of the Net) but I never had someone dedicate a whole hate site to me or to Darklinks. So I guess you know you've made it when someone cares enough to be this big of an asshole to you!

Amy, I wouldn't let it bother you. You are doing a FANTASTIC job here, I am so impressed.

This guy must be a complete waste of space to spend so much time hating on someone else's blog. If he has an opinion on what being a "proper" goth entails, he should write about that instead of bash someone else's opinion.

P.s Stefanie - I think you mean Kitty Lovett rather than I! I'm not so inclined to use my claws :P

About Me

Amy Asphodel

My best friends say I'm girly which makes no sense because I don't even brush my hair. I had my first kiss in a glade of bluebells. My favourite perfume is vanilla which makes sense because old books smell of vanillin. I will hug anything that stays still long enough and firmly believe that life's too short for boring clothes. I really like to dance. I love stories, fluffy jumpers, bonfires, stars and tea. I know all the best people and am lucky to call them my friends and family. I seem to own a ridiculous amount of socks. I believe that normality is overrated and tattoos are art. I wear too much scent and play music too loud. I don't believe in perfection. I would probably be an evil genius if I could just stop putting my handbag in the fridge. I own bloomers and a top hat (or four). I'm not sure I believe in karma but I do like to be on the safe side. I may seem quiet when you first meet me but that's just how I lure my victims.